The demonic cultivators, seeing that they were surrounded, didn't panic and just chuckled, a chilling sound that echoed through the fog-laden streets. A figure emerged from the brothel, taller and more imposing than the rest, his face hidden behind a grotesque mask.
"Foolish cultivators," the masked figure boomed, his voice distorted by the mask. "Did you really think you could stop us? This city is ours now!"
The surrounding cultivators felt their hearts tighten.
The aura emanating from the masked figure was oppressive and suffocating, far beyond the ordinary demonic cultivators gathered there. Even those who had arrived with confidence instinctively gripped their weapons tighter.
Still, no one retreated.
Weapons were drawn, qi surged into the air, and battle erupted instantly.
The city's cultivators, though more numerous, found themselves pushed back, the fog hindering their movements and weakening their defenses.
The city's cultivators gradually began losing ground.
Inside the inn, Riven calmly continued eating as if none of it concerned him.
The old man Shen, however, was visibly agitated.
"Immortal master," he said, his voice laced with concern, "we should do something."
"This city is doomed if we don't intervene."
Riven swallowed a mouthful of rice before replying, "Since they knew of these demonic cultivators and didn't take action beforehand, then they should be capable enough to handle themselves."
He paused, taking another bite. "Besides, I'm more interested in seeing how this plays out. There's something else at work here."
Hearing this, Shen Chu suppressed his concerns and quietly continued observing the battle.
The masked man standing atop the building glanced behind him.
There stood a woman wearing a delicate silver mask. Her figure was alluring, and her gaze remained fixed on the battle below.
"Winter," she said in a soft, charming voice, "we need to finish this quickly. If the Buddhist sect reinforcements arrive before we complete our task, we'll be forced to retreat."
Winter nodded immediately, and without another word, he leapt down from the rooftop.
The moment his feet touched the ground, dark qi erupted violently from his body.
The surrounding demonic cultivators instantly became more frenzied. Their attacks turned increasingly ruthless, and, more horrifyingly, the wounds covering their bodies began healing at a visible rate.
The cultivators defending the city immediately realized the problem.
One of them shouted angrily,
"Where are those monks from the Buddhist sect? Didn't they promise support if things got out of hand?"
Just as he finished speaking, a deep rhythmic sound echoed from afar.
Thump.
The sound spread slowly through the streets.
The moment it reached the battlefield, the surrounding fog weakened slightly, and even the oppressive dark qi seemed to disperse.
Everyone turned toward the source.
A group of monks were approaching them, and at the center of them stood a monk carrying a wooden fish, repeatedly striking it with a small mallet.
With each sound, the fog receded little by little. The unconscious civilians gradually regained color in their faces, while cultivators weakened by the formation slowly recovered.
Winter narrowed his eyes.
Without hesitation, he took out a black bead from his space ring and crushed it instantly.
The fog that had begun dispersing suddenly trembled violently.
Then it started gathering rapidly toward the building behind him.
The monk holding the wooden fish smiled faintly.
"So the formation core is hidden here."
The surrounding cultivators became agitated the moment they heard those words, as many of them had not come solely to save the city.
They had come for the treasure.
Earlier, when news spread that demonic cultivators were constructing a massive formation around the city, opinions had split.
Some wished to stop it immediately, while others saw opportunity.
A formation large enough to cover an entire city required immense resources and an extremely valuable core treasure.
Many believed that if they waited until the formation was complete, they might seize the core for themselves.
Since the Buddhist sect had promised support, they felt secure enough to gamble, and even if things didn't go as planned, they had the means to leave the city.
As for the ordinary citizens who might die because of the formation, most did not care, and to them, weakness itself was a crime.
If mortals suffered, that was their problem.
Winter suddenly burst into loud laughter.
The cultivators frowned in confusion.
The Buddhist sect had arrived, the demonic cultivators were outnumbered, and their formation was being disrupted.
Yet instead of panicking, he was laughing maniacally.
"You pigs think you are quite smart, but you are as dumb as those bald donkeys who think of nothing except farming goodwill."
"And all of you…" his gaze swept across the crowd, "care only about obtaining treasures so you can soar to the heavens in a single leap."
After that he took out a flag from his space ring and inserted it deep into the ground. After the flag was inserted in the ground, the surrounding fog started to turn red.
Seeing this, everyone's face changed. "The blood-bearing flag."
"What is a demonic treasure doing here?"
Even the monks were shocked.
They themselves carried the Thousand Prayers Wooden Fish, a powerful Buddhist treasure specifically designed to suppress demonic formations.
But compared to the Bloodbearing Flag, it was inferior.
The Bloodbearing Flag was one of the supreme treasures of the demonic sects. Merely being near it could drive weak-minded cultivators into madness and bloodlust.
Ordinarily, the cultivators present were strong enough to resist its influence.
But combined with the citywide formation, it would become a catastrophe, and realizing the danger, all the cultivators immediately launched attacks toward Winter.
Winter merely smiled coldly.
"Delay them."
The demonic cultivators obeyed without hesitation, throwing themselves forward to protect the flag with their lives.
The battle intensified instantly.
Even with the Buddhist monks joining, no one could break through the defense surrounding Winter.
Seeing this, Shen Chu stood up immediately and bowed slightly.
"Immortal Master, allow me to act."
But Riven, who had already finished eating, simply glanced toward the battlefield and replied calmly,
"Sit down. There is no need."
Though reluctant, Shen Chu slowly sat back down.
As the battle reached its peak and five minutes passed, panic finally began spreading among the cultivators.
Some seeing no hope in the situation suddenly turned and fled.
They had come seeking opportunity, not death, and one escape triggered another.
Soon, more than half of the cultivators abandoned the battlefield entirely, leaving only a handful behind to continue resisting.
Seeing this, even the monks became desperate.
Though they possessed the Buddhist treasure and could defend themselves temporarily, they were still vulnerable to direct attacks.
After eight minutes had passed, the defenders' courage completely collapsed, and one after another, cultivators fled the city, including the monks.
Winter watched the fleeing crowd with amusement. As there were only some moments remaining before the flag was merged, he took out the flag from the ground, causing the running formation to immediately stop.
Even the demonic cultivators were surprised seeing this.
One of them bowed to Winter and asked, "Sir, why did you stop the process?"
Winter, with a cold tone, said, "You don't have to know."
"Just take all the belongings of the cultivators from the city who have fled and spread the thing I instructed earlier. After that, leave the city immediately."
The confused demonic cultivator still followed the instruction and went away.
Even the fog surrounding the city has dispersed. It will take around an hour for the effects of the fog to disperse, and people will awaken from the sleep slowly after that.
Inside the inn, old man Shen was looking at the development and was surprised.
He thought he might have to act, but everything ended unexpectedly, and the cultivators from the city ran away, and even the working formation was stopped.
Suddenly Riven said, "If you want to do something, you should do something about the nascent soul cultivator there, and as for others, leave them."
Hearing this old man, Shen's eyes sharpened as he looked towards the building and disappeared.
After Winter returned back to the building, he saw an imposing man with a dark face standing in front of the woman.
He turned to look at Winter and said, "Why did you stop the merging process?"
The man called Winter had a pale face as he looked at the man.